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ORIENTAL IMPRESSIONS 
IN AMERICA 



By 

DONG Sung Kim 

Of Korea 



With Drawings bg the Author 



PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY 

THE ABINGDON PRESS 
CINCINNATI 



COPYRIGHT, 1916 
BY D. S. KIM 



'^"'. 



-M 



(G)JI.A4189J6 
FEB II 1916 



TO 

WHOSE UNSELFISH EFFORTS 

MADE OUR EDUCATION POSSIBLE 

DURING THE FIRST FEW YEARS 

IN AMERICA. 



r oreword 

He came from peaceful lands of rice, 
From peaceful people, peaceful skies. 
Beloved b'ue Korean skies. 

Over the green fields* rim; 
An education his emprise, 
A lad all grit, with quiet eyes. 
With golden heart, and very wise, 

Our Mr. Kim! 
Oh, folk of Uncle Sam, be nice, 
With all your kindness, all your lies, 

Be good to him! 

Mary MacMillan. 



Introduction 

"Oriental Impressions in America" discloses the ver- 
satility and quickness of the Oriental mind to grasp, 
understand, and accommodate itself to the thought, the 
activities and foibles of Occidental civilization. The 
author's genius is further unveiled in the quaint and 
wholesome humor shown both in text and illustrations. 
Mr. Kim does not undertake to write the philosophy of 
Western civilization — indeed, who would ? — but with 
unerring judgment and discernment he pictures it very 
much as it really is. Though East be East, and West 
be West, "Oriental Impressions in America" proves 
that we're all akin. 

W. F. Wiley, 
Managing Editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer. 



Oriental Impressions in America 



Our Trip to America 

At last our long voyage has nearly come to an end 
on a November morning. Late in the morning we 
caught the view of the land, the skyline of coast hills 

' in the far 

distance. 
Some one 
informed 
us that we 
were ap- 
^. preaching 
New ^York 
City, yet we 
wondered 
how the city 
was on the 
hills. As we came nearer, 
to our surprise, it was the 
real New York, her sky- 
scrapers appearing to be a 
long range of mountains to 
our naked eyes. Uncon- 
sciously our hat was off to the Statue of Liberty, as 
we were accustomed to do to our gods at home. 

To be sure, not with the same spirit, but with our 
greetings and respects to our hostess-to-be we bowed 
our head politely. 

9 








Columbus could not have been a happier man than 
we were. We had been sailing toward America for two 
months, yet we scarcely believed there was a real Amer- 
ica until our feet touched the bank of the "Noiseville- 
on-Hudson." Then we remembered the little Latin 
quotation, Ve?ti, Vidi — except the last part, which re- 
mained to be proved. 

Our heart was turned to the good Lord with pro- 
found gratitude for two reasons: first, the possibility of 
bringing into direct contact nations and races separated 
by oceans and hemispheres; and second, the advantage 
of journeying with modern conveniences. If there were 
just one class like that of the steerage, we would have 
preferred to stay at home rather than to be mingled in 
that human herd of immigrants in the filthy and un- 
sightly compartments, although we might have re- 
mained an insignificant and ordinary person. 

What right had we to drop in from without to enjoy 
all the civilization of this great commonwealth? Rome 
was not built in a day and neither was America. Only 
through the continuous hardships and unselfish efforts of 
the forefathers of the nation had this wonderful achieve- 
ment come to be crystallized into this stage of civiliza- 
tion. 

We had not come through the influence of some man- 
ufacturer, neither as a captive nor as a conqueror in this 
strange land, but we were here to absorb the intellectual 
atmosphere of modern times which was stored up in a 
college education. No words could be found to express 
our heartfelt appreciation and admiration for the hos- 
pitality of our American friends during our sojourn in 
this new and free world. 



10 



City 



Since we were just an ordinary person, the noise, 
the people, and the buildings interested us more than 
did the government and the celebrities. Our dreams and 
imaginations of Amer- 
ica were different from 
the actual seeing, in that 
we did not think it pos- 
sible to construct such 
immense buildings as the 
Singer Building, with 
which we were familiar 
because of our imported 
domestic articles. It was 
bright, clear daylight, yet 
all these tall buildings 
looked more or less alike 
to us, which made us 
think that the composer 
of that song at the John- 
son-Jeffries bout was not 
quite right in saying 
"Some objects look alike "^ =-- ''^^^S 

in the dark." 

The hurried throngs on each side of the walk, the 
big, tall traffic cops with ever-moving limbs, the auto- 
mobiles, electric cars, surface, elevated, and even sub- 
way cars, vehicles of every description, the whistles, the 
rattles, and a thousand and one other things were all 
at the same time in a modern American city. 

The more we learn, the more we realize our lack of 
knowledge. We thought we could get a share if we were 

11 




at our home community. Soon we found out that we 
knew very little, and we were completely lost in a great 
metropolis. We knew what v/e were doing without 
knowing where we were going, or vice versa. After all, 
we were just but a drop of water in the wide sea. None 
cared for or recognized us in the whirlpool of a city's 
rude buffets. 



Country Life 



There is nothing like a country place in America. 
At times its hills, rocks, and brooks seemed to be trans- 
planted from our home, or, miraculously, we were lifted 
over to our home country. We were impressed with the 
fact that Nature has provided the world about all alike 
in the temperate zones. 

The summer's green fields or the winter's snowy open 
ground were the perfect art of natural genius. We liked 
the cow-bells in the distant pastures, or the crowing of 
the poultry around the barnyards. We enjoyed the 
buttermilk and sweet cider in the pleasant and simple 
country homes, where family altars were kept with a 
devoted spirit. 

But alas! who could stop the young blood from run- 
ning away from this quiet place? The electric lights, the 
vehicles, the people, and the theaters attracted almost 
all the younger generations into the big cities; only the 
less ambitious or the less worldly individuals were left 
at home. 

Some could gain materially twice as much in the 
country as they could in the city. But they preferred 
to yell "Step forward, please!" on the street cars. How- 
ever, the auto vehicles came in time to rescue this mi- 
gration from country to city to some extent. Of course, 
most of the leaders of American life were once among 
this migration. 

12 



Church Going 



Along with our wonders and surprises, we came to 
one place where we were quite disappointed. We used 
to attend, in our home land, a full prayer meeting with 
as many people present as there 
were on Sunday; but here in America 
just a handful of faithful few turned 
out for this mid-week service. At 
the first prayer meeting, our pastor 
told us that he had the largest 
prayer meeting in the State, al- 
though the crowd was quite small. 
Yet this pastor was such a whole- 
some and lovable 
man of great power. 
He was among 
the choicest of 
the leaders of 
his State, yet 
he was unable 
to pull the peo- 
ple out to a 
mid-week prayermeeting. 

In an Ohio denominational college, the boys went to 
church once with a Persian student, who had recently 
arrived. The stranger evidently was not accustomed to 
the American ways. He had to imitate the other young 
men in everything they did. But he went a little too 
far. After the service was over, he noticed the young 
men escorting the young ladies home, so he walked po- 
litely up to a young lady to escort her home. His at- 
tempt was not very successful, however. 

13 





^:y0l^ 



So young men go to church to worship the Almighty 
in the goddesses? In our own judgment, it would be 
more amiable if the people would show a little more of 
a devotional spirit, even if they did worship goddesses. 

Once in a church on our travels, we took the last seat 
in order to get out sooner, but we did not succeed, for 
some one followed us out, shook us by the hand and bid 
us come back again. This was an unnecessary invita- 
tion to us. The moral is, we are not to go to church be- 
cause a half dozen people come around and pat our 
backs and ask us to come back. We should attend church 
because our conscience directs us to do so. 

An American Home 

An American home is the finest institution of this 
age. An American believes in independence, or stand- 
ing on his own feet according to his own merits, regard- 
less of his father or uncle. No matter whether he is the 
eldest born or the second or even the third, although 
the ideal family has no more than two children. 

This spirit entered the home and the young man 
knew how to earn his bread before he planned a home, 
so there was no threat of his going under the breadline, 
as in Europe or Asia. 

We saw him gcttirg up early to fire the furnace; we 
saw him eating breakfast of hot coffee and biscuit with 
his wife and two children; we saw him kissing his family 
when he was off for his work. 

A home does not mean just four walls with a roof 
over them, or Newport villas, or Hudson castles. A 
true home consists in the peaceful God-fearing family. 
Colonel IngersoU ought to have said: "I would rather 
have been an American peasant and lived in a bungalow 
with vines growing over the door, the grapes growing 
purple in the amorous kisses of autumn sun. I would 

14 



have been that man, with my loving wife by my side, 
playing and singing as the day died out of the sky, with 
my children on my knee with their arms about my neck, 
and I would have gone down to tongueless silence of 
the dreamless dust rather than to have been monarchs 
and rulers of the troublesome world." 



Dancing 

The first western dancing we saw was on the Prince 
Eitel Frederick (which happened to be interned at 
Newport News later), on the blue Indian Ocean. The 
whirling motions 
on the light fan- 
tastic toe, accom- 
panied by the 
made-in- Ger- 
many band, fur- 
nished us with an 
amusing and en- 
joyable evening. 
The ocean was 
calm and the 
weather was ideal, which 
rendered the most pleas- 
ant entertainment pos- 
sible in the wideness 
that covered the ocean. 
" Unthinking, idle, and 
wild and young, I 
laughed and danced and talked and sung." 

How gay that princess must have been, but we cared 
little personally, for we used to be a quiet, typical South- 
ern Methodist long before we ever saw America. 

At home, no respectable person danced. For occa- 
sional uses, we had our dancing girls whom we could hire. 

15 




Yes, there is a great deal of physical exercise in dancing, 
but why not dance alone, or man with man or woman 
with woman, without jiggling around both sexes at the 
same time? 

"Billy" Sunday said, "If a man had to dance with 
his own wife, he would just as soon husk corn under the 
moonlight." On the other hand, some say it is rather 
cruel for a man to condemn dancing because it is woman's 
only amusement, while men can do whatever they please, 
as they are not confined at home as women are. 

Is it cruel to condemn dancing? Well, some day, 
should our wife insist upon dancing with any one or 
everybody in the ballroom, what could we do in this 
day of equal rights? What would be her preference — 
two-steps, waltz, fox trot, grizzly bear, bunny hug, 
waddle, toddle, or simple ordinary tango? 

Automobiles 

It would have been impossible for the ancient gen- 
erals to occupy so many pages of history without their 
favorite horses. But this animal, in the early part of 
the twentieth century, met his rival in his new adopted 
land in the automobile or horseless carriage. 

As many other useful things American brain has 
developed, this new type of vehicle has become efficient 
in all branches of traffic, from pleasure cars to utility 
trucks. It has risen as fast as a mushroom, but it has 
come to stay, unless all human beings disappear from 
the earth. 

An automobile is an advertising agency for the one 
who owns it. We judge how fat his pocket is when we 
see him in his car, provided it is not a taxi in which he 
rides. In other words, one owns a car according to his 
bank account. The larger the bank account the more 
costly the car which he owns. 

16 



Nothing gave me a more pleasant sensation than 
speeding a high-power machine with the gas valve wide 
open. But we were more cautious than some others, for 
a machine is often nothing less than a medium for sud- 
den deaths and cripples. It was rather a difficult task 
to collect news items for the press before the days of 
the joy-riding era. On the contrary, now, because of 
the large number of Sunday afternoon accidents, many 
are overlooked and not reported. Some are actually 
speeding their way to their graves, but could we call 
this also "Yankee Push?" 



D 



ress 



It is probably correct to say that the Americans 
are the best dressed people on earth. In our estimation, 
they are not very homely looking, but they believe in 
the theory that clothes make the man. 
The advice to a youth with fifty dol- 
lars capital is to invest one-half in 
clothing. It is quite fortunate for 
the American girl that she is not as 
fickle-minded in other matters as she 
is in dress. No matter how expen- 
sive, or how much she admired a 
dress, she seldom wore it for a second 
time. The styles changed so often 
that the tailors were not able to 
supply the demand for new styles. 
She liked distinctiveness, individu- 
ality, to be somewhat different from 
her sisters at any cost. She looked 
for the up-to-minute fashion in hats, 
dress, and all. Her chief aim and 
ambition is not beyond being at- 
tractive in the eyes of the male specimens. 

17 




Recently a returned missionary said that the heathen 
were putting on clothes while the American women 
were taking them off. The Zulus are still uncivilized 
and do not appreciate the art of nature. In former days 
they were naked simply because they had no clothes. 
There was a time here when low-necked dresses were 
considered immoral by some, but the other night a 
leading lady in a silent drama had her back almost 
naked, representing a society woman at a card table 
showing a big wart in the middle of her back. 



Frog Legs 



"Chink, chink. Chinaman, Chinaman eat rats," we 
heard as we passed along the poorer quarters of a city, 
fromthe lips of uneducated children. As usual, we were 

taken for a "Chink" or 
a Jap. Being unfortunate 
in not having been bom 
in the celestial empire, 
we never had the 
pleasure of tasting 
the flesh of rats, nor 
did we see anyone 
participating in such 
a luxurious diet dur- 
j « ,1 ing our two years of 
li.f.J school days in that 
country. At any 
rate, this story came 
to be familiar to the 
_ ^ _ ears of American 

^^ "^ ~ ^ v^f. " children. But the 
greatest thing to us was to see frog legs, classed as non- 
edible at home, here found to be the most fashionable 
dish on an American menu. 

18 




We must confess that we engaged once in this feast 
and enjoyed it immensely. But soon the thought came 
that we were prejudiced against frog legs, and we ran 
into a recondite place to find some means to take it out 
from our ventral cavity, but it was too late, for the frog 
legs went down deep and well. We were as helpless as 
our landlady's spaniel that had a flea on his back which 
neither his feet, his mouth, nor his tail could reach. 

We afterwards learned to enjoy them fully with well- 
prepared tartar sauce, which inspired us to quote a 
verse in such an arrogant manner as if we were a born 
poet: 

Oh, East and East, West and West, 

And ever the twain shall meet; 
Even fore earth and sky stand presently at 
God's great judgment seat. 

— Apologies to Kipling. 

Accidents 

Some one asked us once why it was that all our 
folks he saw were in such good physical condition. He 
meant, why our legs were not broken, or he wanted to 
know where we had put our armless sleeves. It was such 
a simple question to answ^er. We did not have all kinds 
of machinery and means of transportation like we saw 
in America. Everybody was in a hurry, hurry here, 
hurry there. One took fifteen minutes to catch trains, 
five minutes to get up, five minutes to eat, and the 
other five minutes to run. Yet most of these immortals 
wondered how Methusaleh managed to live six hundred 
and ninety-six years, while Noah reached the respect- 
able age of five hundred and ninety-five years. 

One summer we were on our way to New York 
State by way of the Lake Shore lines. Suddenly our 
train jarred, some unpleasant gas odor filled the coaches, 

19 



after which a terrible explosion occurred and our car 
stood still. In the wild excitement, we learned that an 
automobile had stopped right on the track which our 
train ran on. It was struck squarely and carried some 
distance. 

Certainly the train had the right of way on the 
rails, but it was mercilessly cruel for our train to crash 
into that poor and helpless stalled engine. Two out of 
five of the joy-riders jumped to safety, while the rest 
went along with the pilot of our locomotive. We won- 
dered if Methusaleh or Noah met the limited train 
squarely on their travels while driving an auto. 

The Postman 

The Americans are hard workers in all branches of 
life, though some work harder than others. Most of 
these men worked with machines or something equiva- 
lent to them, but 
the mail-carrier 
alone used no 
artificial means 
for his daily 
routine from 
house to house. 
The postman 
we thought was 
our best friend, 
although we did 
not learn his 
^ n a m e . He 
brought the 
news from our 
mother and our 
friends from all parts of the world. We were quite 
anxious to see him coming down the street, and he 

20 




never came too often. Once we thought that we were 
the only person who appreciated the postman's ap- 
proach because we were a stranger in strange surround- 
ings; but we soon discovered that we had a wrong im- 
pression. Everybody who was big enough to discard 
his cradle was delighted to have the postman stop at 
his front door. This postman recently added to his 
bundles of letters post cards, periodicals, some heavier 
mailing matter, such as a box of chocolates for a beauti- 
ful maiden or a basket of eggs for a city consumer. Yet 
without a single protest this faithful friend carried the 
weight and strolled along the avenues and alleys from 
house to house on one side of the street, then on the 
other, in sunshine or in rain. He was the most welcome 
person of the city and the greatest joy maker in America. 

Love 

"Since love hath never of any man been seen, 
Nor touched by mortal fingers bodily, 
Many there are who led by Folly lean 
To think that love is a nonentity." 

— From Symond's Translations. 

We are inclined to believe that love is nothing more 
than a nonentity. Our young folks at home have to 
learn to love, for their parents pick their mates for them, 
but in America the situation is just the opposite. The 
young folks have so much freedom that they elope with 
their own choices, should they prefer. However, for 
this serve-self proposition, including girls in America 
because a bachelor meant that a man with very modest 
means was unable to provide the required standard of 
a modern family. If one had a little bigger bank ac- 
count than his neighbor, the most beautiful belle in his 
community picks him first, unless she is a student of 
eugenics. 21 



The qualifications of a young man to be a good hus- 
band consisted in three things: first, his bankroll must be 
large enough to meet the demands of the ever-changing 
styles of apparel of his bride-to-be; second, he must be 
possessed of good looks; and last, he must love her. 

Our roommate in school, the j oiliest fellow in exist- 
ence, announced his decision of entering the ministry 
in a church meeting. We never saw any one so disap- 
pointed as a young lady of his acquaintance, because 
she well knew a preacher could not keep an electric coup6 
for his wife. 

Woman Suffrage 

It seemed to us that the intelligence of the average 
American woman was far superior to that of women in 
other countries of the world, and 
in fact, they are rulers of America, 
figuratively speaking. Always 
woman first. There was 
hardly time for us to oc- 
cupy a seat pur- 
chased for a nickel 
in a street car. The 
male portion did the 
bread earning, but 
the ladies bossed 
them all. 

"Al, go out and 

see if the milk bottle 

was put out before 

\\,^ you retire, and don't 

^ ^^„.<^ forget to see that 

Fritzie is in." 

We see no reason why the men hesitate to give such a 
little thing as the casting of votes to women, although a 

22 




great many States boast of their chivalry by giving the 
right of suffrage to women at an early date. Some 
women are better fitted for public office than so-called 
qualified politicians. At this point some men were 
afraid of losing their breadline. 

But not all the best people in America are in politics. 
As correctly as we could figure it out, the matter of 
economy plays a large role. The men have their hands 
full with the millinery bills at present, and if they give 
the right to vote to the fair sex, they will disband the 
sewing clubs and thankofferings to go out on campaign 
tours and speech makings. Naturally the campaign 
fund will be larger than thankofferings or the expenses 
of a bridge club. 

It is bound to come In due time. Why do not the 
gentlemen give the right of suffrage right away, not for 
the sake of argument, but for the cause itself, even if 
they have to nurse the children while their wives are on 
the platform? 

College Socials 

Since Oberlin College started the department of 
higher learning for girls, as we were informed, there was 
very slight chance for a bashful fellow to go through 
college without having his face tickled by the plume or 
feather on the hat of a fair co-ed who occupied the seat 
directly in front of him. 

The idea of the co-ed is that she must have a beau 
at any cost. If a fellow played football or was a mem- 
ber of a fraternity or a patron of nickel shows, she was 
his bait. House warmings and proms were the result. 

While we were yet in a "prep" course in a Southern 
college, an invitation came to us from a neighboring 
college. It was the annual function of the seniors, com- 
posed of the fairest members of the South. We had not 

23 



quite recovered from the shock and intoxication of the 
new life, and knew Httle about any sort of college amuse- 
ments. Perhaps on this account the invitation came. 
The next day "Bullfoot," one of the old men, told us 
enviously that he had been in college for five years and 
had never caught the glimpse of the reception parlor of 
that college. How absurd he was ! He envied us as much 
as a little girl envies her older sister's summer furs. 



C 



ampus 



Life 



A German scholar once said that the scholar is the 
sheep in the kingdom of learning; he studies because he 

is told to do so, 
and because 
others have done 
so before him, so 
those innocent- 
looking little 
lambs flocked in- 
to a campus and 
started to make 
noises with care- 
free voices: 

"Hail! hail! 
the gang's all 
here!" The songs 
and yells would 
linger with us 
through life as 
the sweet mem- 
ories of joUiest 
days of our youth. None could appreciate this fact 
fully unless he himself had once donned the little cap on 
the back of his head at a sixty-degree angle, with loud 
stockings of different color on each leg. 

24 




Our first experience was away down in a Dixie col- 
lege, small in size, but foremost in standard, where the 
proudest families of the fair South were represented 
with their joUiest younger generation. Yet thise fellows 
are so human and shared the fun and humor with us 
most lavishly under the same roof and at the same 
dinner tables. 

Then our roommate, or "old lady," as we used to 
call him, and we had our times independently by our 
midnight eats until the oil was burned out. The ser- 
enade, the rallies, the shirt parades, and the bonfires 
were one after the other, as usual, until Halloween or 
April Fool Day came, when we celebrated with all our 
energy that sweet foodstuff could manufacture for us. 

One midnight our roommate and we climbed to the 
highest floor of the main building and went through a 
transom to see our hobo friend. Mack, who had been 
carried up there by a professor in physiology, with the 
permission of the mayor, after he bade farewell to this 
life on a nearby tract. He was to be cut by a class ex- 
clusively. We wanted to meet him, but gained no in- 
troduction. 

Our adventure was successful, and we escaped the 
demerit which we were accredited with by the pro- 
fessor. There was Mack, whom we wanted to meet face 
to face. He was lying on the table in the middle of the 
room, showing the inside of his ventral cavity, without 
a word of greeting to us, because his days were ended. 
What is in a man if he be a simple hobo, like Mack, or 
the mighty Czar of Russia? He was dead and back to 
earth again. Thrills, thrills, thrills. 



25 



Baseball 




¥ 



Pf 



We overheard, in a street car, one young man asked 
another what he was doing. The one to whom the 
question was put repHed, " I am cutting diamonds." 

So we thought he 
was one ot those 
unfortunate Bel- 
gian refugees, but 
soon we discovered 
that he was the 
grass cutter in the 
baseball park. 

Among all the 
sports in America 
baseball is the most 
popular. As soon 
as the weather be- 
gins to smile in the 
spring the whole 
nation, the ball 
players, fans, old 
and young, go into 
wild excitement 
and enthusiasm over the sport. Had a Roman caught 
the glimpse of the ball park on a National League day 
or one of the days of the world's series, it undoubtedly 
would have made him homesick for his old times around 
the forum with its throng of spectators. 

The professionals were able to carry home an ap- 
preciable compensation, according to their speed and 
ability to steal bases. 

The chief ambition of many a boy is focused on the 
hope of being, some day, a Christy Mathewson, Walter 

26 




Johnson, or Hughie Jennings, or perhaps the President 
of the United States. Even the President himself ad- 
mires the game so highly that he is often found at the 
ball parks to imitate the professionals by throwing the 
first ball for the world series, or some sort of the same 
nature. 

Like many good things in the world that never die, 
baseball continues to be popular, in spite of its old age 
of three score and ten ; in fact, it is safe to prophesy that 
it will increase in popularity and stay with the destiny 
of human kind. 



Football 

Football is a distinct college sport in America, al- 
though some professionals tackle and kick the ball 
around the gridiron. Football is the game of all games 
for us. Its only rival 
is baseball, but, happy 
to say, these two 
games never inter- 
fered with each other, 
for they occupy dif- 
ferent seasons. Foot- 
ball in the fall and 
baseball in the spring. 

We would rather 
watch a football 
player make a touch- 
down after a success- 
ful plunge through 
the foe's line, or a 
drop-kick, than to see 
a baseball player hit 
a ball over the fence 
and leisurely make a home run. 

27 




Football requires all 



the strength and vigor of a young life. It is the game 
of a giant who lives a robust life. 

To our regret, we never took part in this manly 
game, for we were not husky enough to push the lines. 
However, we had to learn a little about tennis because 
it is a family game. 

We were as earnest and enthusiastic over football 
as any rooter on the bleachers. We were there to join 
the crowd when a shirt parade was marching. That 
husky, robust fellow who made the touchdown was the 
hero of the day and the idol of all the co-eds. Glory and 
triumph crowned his head, but his triumph was there, 
and there alone. Should he return to his alma mater, 
say five years hence, to his astonishment he would be 
utterly lost on the campus among the ever-changing 
student body. He would have no more regard shown 
him than the ordinary passerby gets. 

So the clock ticked and ticked, the morning dawned 
in the east and the sun rose and went down in the 
western sky, then the moon rose again in the east, as 
the earth went around without paying the least atten- 
tion to what the human activities were. 



28 



President 



We knew America was a republic, but we could not 
believe it was possible to elect the chief executive of the 
land once in four years. He was not the same imperson- 
ation of focus and authority as we saw at home in kings 
and emperors. He was but merely a public servant with 
utmost unselfish motives. If he were a servant of the 
people, we were unable to understand it, for we were 
accustomed to keep our servants for generations, while 
he was to make 
room for some 
one else who 
was equally 
capable. It 
was too true to 
believe. 

We wish to 
inform our 
friends at home 
who are not 
fortunate 
enough to see 
a simple plain- 
clothed Presi- 
dent or crown- 
less king, that 
the traffic of- 
ficer occasionally must arrest him for violation of the 
speed laws, just as they do any other person. 

His form of government is the wonder of nations. 
Why is it that some of the notables of the world have 
not called the United States the "Celestial Republic?" 

29 




South 

"Yon cloud with that long purple cleft 
Being fresh in to my mind, 
A day like this which I have left 
Fully thirty years behind. 

My eyes are dim with childish tears, 

My heart is idly stirred; 
For the same sound is in my ears 

Which in those days I heard." 

— Theocritus. 

We left the South to come to a northern school 
fully three years ago, but on account of our homesick- 
ness it seemed thirty years, and this pastoral poet fore- 
told our feelings quite admirably. 

We found equally warm friends up here, but the 
things of the South were not the things of the North, 
even under the same flag. In the South there were not 
only mocking birds, magnolias, corn, and cotton, but 
also the beautiful maidens from the noblest and purest 
American blood. Where can the true native white stock 
of America be found as easily as in the South? 

Perhaps the stork liked the South better than he 
did the North, for his visits there were more frequent. 
A family with only two children was practically un- 
known there, while it would be shocking to see three 
children in a New York apartment. 

Then there were good-hearted and pleasant natured 
colored folks who shared the Ameiican wonders along 
with their white brothers. 

30 



Pretty soft! as we heard on the campus. They 
laughed and sang and sang and laughed. 

"Oh, Hanna, won't you wake me up so 
Early in the morn? 
I'm gwan to 'usking of de corn. 
What r'e gwan to do den? 
I'm gwan to chew on ham bone den 
When de dinne' horn blow." 



Freedom 

In a certain city a citizen owned a house, and operated 
the underworld secretly outside of the segregated dis- 
trict. The court had evidence to prosecute, yet had no 
power to drive the owner out of 
the house, so the court ordered 
a uniformed officer to 
be on duty day and 
night at the expense of 
the city to keep 
the patrons 
away. 

This is not 
a good example 
to pick out in a 
Christian land, 
but it shows 
that Americans 
are not all 
saints. Some 
evil forces are 
at work. But 
as a whole, 
Americans are nearly superhuman. We mean that 
Americans alone enjoyed so much freedom. Freedom 

31 




in America was the most enviable thing in the past oi 
the present. Neither the court nor the individual evei 
trampled on or took advantage of others, no mattei 
how wrong the act might be. Boot blacks have as mucl: 
right as a member of the upper house, or millionairt 
club. 

Washington completely uprooted tyranny in America 
and established freedom, not alone for his own country 
but for the people of other lands as well. Here tht 
refugees and exiles of other countries find shelter and 
protection. New York is the largest Jewish town ir 
the world. The Poles, Armenians, Hindus, including 
our own countrymen, have their personal rights re- 
spected under the Stars and Stripes. 

Noted Americans 

In the pages of history we learn that some periods 
produce more prominent individuals than others. Bui 
it seems to us that America at present possesses a group 
of historical characters, although it has been said thai 
such men as Lowell, Longfellow, and Wliittier are nc 
longer to be found. 

We used to think the men who filled the annals ol 
history with their biographies were really big men, bul 
our view is somewhat changed. The big men in America 
to-day are not found in the State capitols or governmcnl 
buildings, but they arc found in the ol^ces of downtown 
skyscrapers. 

The riches of Rockefeller would have been impos- 
sible without these men of brain, or the Stars and Stripes 
would not have much weight on the lands across the 
ocean. In other countries just a few individuals direct 
the public affairs, but in America things are just the 
opposite. Yet no one praised these men so loud because 

32 



they shook and trembled at after-dinner speeches. 
These men, real shrewd Yankees, are the main support 
of the country — the power behind the throne. 

Nevertheless it is true that such men as Bryan, Wil- 
son, Eliot, Butler, Jordan, Edison, Ford, Rockefeller, 
Carnegie, Wanamaker, and Roosevelt are before the 
public eye. 

Writers 

Writers of the past who made contributions to 
society by their talents received small material com- 
pensation. We never learned that any writer of olden 
time lived a lux- 
urious life; but in 
America to-day 
some of the most 
easily made 
means are accumulated 
through publishing 
houses. The public are 
great readers, hence the 
publisher supplies the 
demand, paying a good 
price for a well-written 
article. 

We do not know 
whether these count- 
less contributions will 
all live or not. At any 
rate, the literature used 
to be written by the inspiration of a genius; but now it 
can be bought and sold by words and length of the 
article, just as a house or an automobile is bought and 
sold. 

Naturally, some of the books are dead before they 
33 




get to the press, while others will rank with the classics 
and live for endless ages. 

A few of the familiar names of merit in America 
to-day are: Riley, Howells, VanDyke, White, Reinhardt, 
Gladden, Beach, Chambers, London, Cobb, and Blythe. 

Personally, we would have admired Wallace Irwin, 
had he not been a secretary to our stronger neighbors; 
but now we like Sam Blythe among the popular writers 
of to-day, because he has his own style, and is square 
and fair. He was not influenced by favors. Recently 
he wrote an account of his world's tour and wrote it as 
he saw it himself, not seeing it through the eyes of some 
agent, like a professor in Chicago. 

Public Libraries 

Perhaps the greatest achievement of American 
civilization is the system and facilities afforded the 
people in regard to library advantages. Public and 
private libraries are located all over the country. 

Andrew Carnegie has contributed more liberally to 
this cause of enlightenment than any other one person. 
He should be given due credit for the advancement of 
the American library, even if he has had some slight in- 
terest in the manufacture of human-destroying machines. 

Most of us had to memorize all the important dates 
of the birth and death of great heroes, the date of the 
rise and fall of nations, and the epoch-making events of 
the past. To an American this is unnecessary, for all 
he has to do is to visit the nearest library, where he 
finds all useful knowledge classified and easy of access. 
He does not need to remember when the Titanic sank, 
or when Nero set fire to Rome, or when Roosevelt won 
his libel suit with a Michigan editor and received three 
cents damage, or who was the mayor of Chicago who 
ordered the saloons closed on Sunday in 1915. 

34 



The flooded literature of American life is all stored 
up in the libraries under the most systematic manage- 
ment. The buildings, too, are of such construction that 
there is little danger of burning, as did that great Chinese 
library four thousand years ago, which resulted in 
practically producing a dark age in the nation's life. 

The library is the monument of American culture 
for generations to come. 



Newspapers 



Newspapers in America was nothing new to us. 
The first issue of this kind originated not far from our 
home. Since the days of the Tang Dynasty, the news 
of the court had existed. 
However, there was such 
perfect efficiency in the 
newspapers here, the 
break-neck speed could 
spread the news while, 
new. We actually read 
the news of the final 
score of a baseball game 
before we got out of the 
ball park. 

Perhaps two factors 
controlled the American 
public, the politicians 
and the newspapers. The 
American newspapers 
swayed the nation as the 
Roman orators on the 
forum. The throng might 
hail Brutus one minute and then hail Antony the next, 
although it was not true in the case of Leo Frank, of 

35 




Atlanta. It is the combination of the parliament an 
the Fourth Estate. 

It would not be an exaggeration to say that th 
American civilization is in its zenith through the toil 
of these anxious and inquisitive newspapers. The news 
papers are to the American public as Nietzsche was t 
German culture, if not more so. 

On the other hand, the papers are issued by huma 
beings, and hence are not always correct in their opei 
ations. Our Prexy was one of the most popular leader 
in the civic and educational affairs of the city, yet h 
was criticized by the press because he did not confin 
his activities to his campus office. So we can not be 
lieve their opinion, like an Irish husband who stoppe 
his sick wife in saying, "Hush, Sara, and lie down sti 
without a word. You are dead now; the doctor says so. 



36 





















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